7 alarming things a hacker can do when they have your email address

Once a hacker has access to your email, they can access a lot more of your information. Here are some of the things they can do—and how to stay safe.

How you can stay safe from hackers

Hopefully, though, you won’t have to encounter any of these problems, and there are some measures you can take to keep your information safe. Avoid using your verbatim email address as a login for other sites, and make sure that your password is strong and difficult to guess—check out our guide here for creating a strong password. You should also change those passwords every couple of months or so for maximum security. Glassberg also recommends securing your email account with two-factor authentication. This “[requires] a one-time code to be entered alongside the password in order to gain access to the email account,” he told RD. “In most cases, the code will be texted to the person’s cell phone, but there are also 2FA apps you can use, like Google Authenticator.”

And, of course, just use your common sense. Don’t share information or type in your email password on public WiFi networks, and just be smart about the information you share over email.

What to do if you think you've been hacked

Starting to notice some strange online activity? There are a couple of ways you can try to get ahead of it before it gets too bad. If you hear about spam emails being sent from your address, change your password immediately. You should also tell your contacts so that they know to ignore anything coming from you. Finally, Lavelle offers some other suggestions: “Change your email settings to the highest privacy setting, scan your computer for malware and viruses, and be sure your browsers are updated,” he says. And you can also stay ahead of hackers by learning the cybersecurity secrets hackers don’t want you to know.

The post 7 Alarming Things a Hacker Can Do When They Have Your Email Address appeared first on Reader's Digest.